Pohnpei Starling

The Pelzelnstar ( Aplonis pelzelni ), also known as Pohnpei SingStar, is an extremely rare or already extinct bird from the family of starlings. He is (or was ) endemic to the island of Pohnpei ( Federated States of Micronesia) in the Pacific, where he was called by the islanders 'they'. It was named after the Austrian ornithologist August von Pelzeln ( 1825-1891 ).

Description

The Pelzelnstar reached a size of 19 centimeters. He was generally dark with a sooty brown top. The head was darker and had a black face and black reins. The wings, the rump, the upper tail-coverts and tail were brighter and showed more browning than the head. The underside was washed olive brown. The beak and feet were black. The iris was brown. The young birds were similar to the parent animals, but their plumage showed especially on the underside of a lighter brown. His reputation was of a bell- bright, high-pitched see- ay.

Habitat

The Pelzelnstar occurred in dark moist mountain forests above 425 meters above sea level, but he has also been observed in plantations and at lower elevations. The last specimen was shot at a height of 750 meters above sea level.

Lifestyle and food

He was a state bird and defended a territory usually in pairs. He went during the day in search of food. His diet consisted of the flowers, berries and seeds of evergreen shrubs and trees, as well as from insects and grubs. Reports that he has built his nest in tree cavities, have never been confirmed.

Hazard history

The Pelzelnstar was discovered by Polish anthropologist Johann Stanislaus Kubary (1846-1896) and described in 1876 by ​​the German ornithologist Otto Finsch. The holotype has been stored for some time at the Museum Godeffroy in Hamburg, is now in the Museum Naturalis in Leiden. In the early 1930s seems to have been still quite often this bird. 60 copies were shot during the Whitney South Sea expedition under the direction of William Coultas in 1930 and 1931 on Pohnpei and are now in the American Museum of Natural History. 1948 ordered the ornithologist Lawrence P. Richards another copy and sent it to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. 1956 was the ornithologist Joe T. Marshall for the time being last western scientist who could catch this bird. Marshall took two copies and sent the bellows to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Thereafter, this species was lost. 1973 or 1974, a couple on Nantolemal Point was allegedly observed and after repeatedly appeared unconfirmed reports of the islanders in the 1970s, there were 1976, 1977 and 1983 search expeditions, however, were not successful. In 1990, he was classified by the IUCN as extinct until the ornithologist William T. stalls on 4 July 1995 acquired a female that was shot in 1994 by a local guide during a herpetological expedition. Until today this is the last proof of Art

The reasons for their disappearance are unknown. Competition with other species of birds and bird hunting have certainly played an important role and as with many other island species, there was also strong on Pohnpei Nestplünderungen by rats. Although between 1975 and 1995 37 % of the upland forest were cleared, yet a large part of their habitat has remained untouched.